Biography
Brumel was the son of a miner. He began going in for sports at age 12 in Lugansk, coached by P. S. Shtein. At age 16 he cleared 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) in the high jump, using the then dominant straight-leg straddle technique. From the age of 17, he improved his skills under the coaching of V. M. Dyachkov in Moscow. In 1960 he broke the USSR record, 2.17 metres (7 ft 1 in), and made the Olympic Team. At the 1960 Summer Olympics, he scored the same result as the winner Robert Shavlakadze but made more attempts and won the silver (2nd place). He broke the world record for the high jump six times from 1961 to 1963, from 2.23 metres (7 ft 4 in) to 2.28 metres (7 ft 6 in). He won gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics.
After going undefeated during the 1965 season, Brumel injured his right leg in a motorcycle accident. Even after undergoing 29 operations, he could never get his career back on track, though he jumped 2.06 metres (6 ft 9 in) in 1970.
Read more about this topic: Valeriy Brumel
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